2013 Grenache Blanc, Bokisch Vineyard

An unoaked white wine, made entirely in stainless steel. The nose is floral and creamy with a hint of vanilla; it's balanced and rich with a tannic prickle on finish. 

2012 Verdelho, Silvaspoons Vineyard

Smoky nose; flavors of candied Ginger and mineral notes, but the finish is quite quick.

2011 Pinot Noir, Branciforte Creek, Santa Cruz Mountains

SCMV has always been known for its excellent Pinot Noirs, and this is no exception. Lots of Umami, fruit and pencil shavings; Good structure, nice acidity. There's a long finish with flavours of sour cherry. Very good indeed. Recommended.

2012 Grenache

There;'s plenty going on here - the nose shows white pepper and leather; lots of tart cranberry flavors backed by good structure. At the price this is a wine you should buy by the case. Highly recommended.

2010 Tempranillo Reserve

Ripe (but not overripe) fruits, backed by flavors of licorice and coffee. Spicy, with good acidity

2011 Graciano

Barnyard nose; palate is earthy with liquorice and black fruits.

2010 Touriga

I liked this wine so much that I barely made any notes, beyond the nose of fresh cut grass and flowers. A blend of two grapes - I think it was Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca - and a great price. I bought some and plan to give it the review that it deserves soon. Highly recommended.

2010 Souzão

Blind I'd have guessed Cabernet Sauvignon; it's got that blackcurrant/blackberry character and eucalyptus notes. But it after a good start it tails off toward the end.

2011 Petite Sirah

I've said many times that Petite Sirah is a difficult grape to do well; this is one of those cases where it works. The dark fruits shine through the tannins; but even so it needs a couple of years at least.

2007 Rabelo

If anyone outside Portugal is making a better port-style wine then I'd like to know it. Intense plum, pepper and spice - like a Christmas pudding in a glass.

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Former Bargetto winemaker Michael Sones has been crafting interesting wines under his own label for around 10 years, initially focusing primarily on good value Zinfandel and Petite Sirah - two varieties that Bargetto isn't well known for.
Production is around the 1300 case mark.

2012 Cancion Del Mar
A lone white wine in a sea of reds, this is a blend of
Viognier, Pinot Gris, Torrontés and Sauvignon Blanc. The nose is floral, with mineral notes; it's a rich, smooth creamy wine; less crisp than I remember previous vintages being, but still a good wine to have with seafood.

2010 Zinfandel, Zayante Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
An intense, rich wine whose raspberry nose follows on through the palate into the finish. Good structure. Recommended.

2009 Syrah Zayante Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
This is a wine that calls out for a slow cooked pot roast or stew. From the gamey, meaty nose to the tart, raspberry finish it continues to evolve and change, revealing notes of eucalyptus, cocoa and pepper on the way. Recommended.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wiedeman Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Sporting a label by local artist Ben Davis Jr,  this archetypal valley floor Cabernet shows blackcurrant, brambles and coffee. Nice acidity and a good finish. Recommended.

2011 Fashionably Late Zinfandel 
I was a little surprised to see any kind of late harvest red wine from 2011; a cooler vintage where mildew, odium and botrytis were a constant issue and rains at harvest forced many to pick early - yet here we have a Zinfandel with 5% residual sugar.
As you'd expect it's intense with plenty of raspberry flavors, but little else; it cries out for something to give it more backbone (a hint of Petite Sirah maybe?)

2012 Sack

Caileen with the 2010 Wiedeman Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon

Sack was an old English term for fortified wines from Spain. It grew in popularity in the Elizabethan age despite - or because of - the ongoing war between Elizabeth and Philip II. In Henry IV part 2 the character Falstaff performs a monologue in praise of “sherris sack”, concluding “If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack.”

This wine was produced in association with Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and some of the profits go to support that group. It began as a base white wine made from Torrontés  which was then fortified with brandy and sweetened with grape must. It comes in at 18% ABV.

Hard to know what to compare it to. It doesn’t have the same oxidation or maturity of a modern Sherry; neither does it have the freshness of a Pineau or Mistelle or the sweetness of a Tokaj. Instead the Torrontés gives it a very appealing floral nose, with notes of peach or apricot, but unfortunately on the palate it’s rather flat; there’s either too much heat from the brandy or not enough sweetness from the must. A curiosity that will appeal to some but doesn't really work for me.

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Stefani at Savannah-Chanelle

The history of Savannah-Chanelle goes back to the early days of the California wine boom. Pierre Pourroy emigrated to California from France in 1887 and was joined by his brother Eloi six years later. Together they bought land - including a vineyard - in Saratoga from the Bonjetti family and planted Zinfandel, Carignane and Cabernet Franc, among other varieties. They also planted fruit trees and produced prunes. By the 1920s the family owned over 400 acres.

The winery was established in 1917. The Pourroy wines were sold in jugs or small barrels - there was no commercial bottling - and Eloi Pourroy did not even own a truck, preferring to use horse drawn sleds and wagons. They continued producing wines and selling grapes even during prohibition, finally stopping in the mid-1950s. Many of the Pourroy family were buried in the Madronia cemetery in Saratoga.

By the late 1960s the vineyards were largely derelict. A group of Lockheed employees got together intending to purchase a parcel of land to establish a Christian camp ground. However they ran out of resources and asked a local businessman, Victor Erickson, for help. He eventually purchased 53 acres of land and raised vegetables.

A neighbor tended to the old vines and took the crop, and through him Daniel and Robin Gehrs learned about the property and persuaded Erickson to re-open the winery. In 1976 Congress Springs was established, with Gehrs as winemaker and Erickson as owner. Together they refurbished the old vineyards and planted some Chardonnay. In the mid 1980s Erickson sold the company (but not the land) to Anglo-American, a world-wide agricultural business who also owned vineyards in the San Ysidro District. However the company lost millions when a venture in Australia failed, and were bought out by some east coast bankers, who had no idea how to run a winery, and so it went bankrupt. Daniel Gehrs left to become winemaker for Zaca Mesa and eventually established his own label in Santa Barbara.

In the early 1990s the property was leased and then bought by John Del Mare, with the intention of resurrecting the Congress Springs winery. In 1996 he then then sold it to Kellie and Mike Ballard, who renamed it after their two young daughters - Savannah and Chanel. Today The winery produces Pinot Noir from a variety of sources, and a tiny amount of estate wines from the original Pourroy plantings, which are among the oldest of their kind in the country.

2013 Pinot Noir rose 

A bone-dry rose showing strawberries on the nose and palate.

2013 Chardonnay, Tondre's Grapefield, Santa Lucia Highlands

An unoaked Chardonnay; notes of asian pear on the nose. 

In the mouth there is crisp acidity and minerality with a chalky, lemony finish.

2010 Pinot Noir, Regan Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains

Savory nose with some black cherry. The palate has rich, dark fruit and some soy or nori notes. 

2011 Pinot Noir, Tondre's Grapefield, Santa Lucia Highlands

Despite its youth the nose shows notes of leather and earth. My friend said it reminded him of "a wet dog running in the countryside". Good red cherry fruit, with a longish finish.

2008 Syrah Coast View Vineyard Herbal nose; there's a good core of fruit, but it's under a mass of tannin. Definitely needs cellar time.

2011 Estate Zinfandel, Santa Cruz Mountains Good as the other wines are, the stars of Savannah-Chanelle are the estate bottlings.
 This Zinfandel comes from century old vines, producing around 1.25 tons per acre.
Nose is minty and herbal, with a slightly metallic note. In the mouth there's stacks of concentrated ripe raspberry fruit.  The finish is long, rich and peppery. Wonderful stuff; highly recommended.

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Gene Guglielmo

The Santa Clara Valley may well be the state's most under-recognized AVA - Wikipedia's entry on the History of California Wine doesn't even mention it by name, in spite of over 160 years of continuous commercial grape growing and wine production. Visitors to the area would scarcely know that so many quality wineries were so close by since, unlike many other AVAs around the state, there's almost no visual indicators to advise them.

The Official Unveiling

So a group of local wineries banded together and enlisted the help of representatives from the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy to lobby the county for greater recognition. This has borne fruit, as it were, in the form of the Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail. The county has invested around $25,000 in new signage to direct visitors in a loop connecting around 16 wineries located around the Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill areas. The trail runs roughly parallel to 101 on the east side of the valley from Morgan Hill down to Leavesley Road, then along Hecker Pass and back up Watsonville Road. While the signs have been in place for a few weeks, the official launch of the trail took place on Friday, at Guglielmo Winery.

Guglielmo was an ideal choice to showcase the potential of the Santa Clara Valley AVA. The oldest  family-owned winery in the area, the Guglielmos have transformed their business from producing 'jug' wine to a range of high quality estate vintages, as well as being the driving force behind the establishment of the Santa Clara Valley AVA in 1989.

Thomas Kruse disgorges his Chardonnay

The launch saw speeches by several civil dignitaries, followed by a tour along part of the trail and lunch in Gilroy. On the way we tasted quite a number of local wines, including a quite good 2009 Syrah at Morgan Hill Cellars, a freshly disgorged, hand-riddled sparkling Chardonnay at Thomas Kruse, the final vintage of Fratelli vineyard Fiano from Solis, a brand new 2012 Zinfandel from Medeiros Family and a rather fine Port style wine called Eredita from Guglielmo.

The celebrations will continue over the weekend with a special promotion.  Tickets cost $40 at participating wineries.

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(Note: Please be sure to read the comments to this post - there's more interesting information there, some of which contradicts what I wrote. Dave)

There's an article doing the rounds at the moment that's trashing Trader Joe's Charles Shaw wines. Personally I didn't think there was a need to; I find they vary from poor to undrinkable myself, and won't have them in the house. But some people will drink anything - look at how much Budweiser gets sold every day. I'm not going to link to the publishers; that just encourages them.

However the article contains a good deal of misinformation which really deserves to be addressed. I should point out that I haven't visited the factory winery myself, but there are some things that are common to just about all facilities, from the smallest to the most industrial.

Are there rats, birds and insect bits in the wine? Well, rodents don't tend to live in vines 3 feet off the ground, and if they did they'd certainly get out of the way as soon as a tractor came close. Gophers tend to be the biggest pest in vineyards; they live in the ground and attack the roots, not the fruit. Similarly with birds; in fact most winemakers net their vines to prevent birds from getting access. The odds of wildlife getting caught by the harvester is very small indeed - but not zero.

No winemaker that I know of, even at the highest level, will search through the grapes to ensure that there are no insects or frass present. It's just not going to happen. Some wineries have what's called a shaker table - it's effectively a long tilted metal table that vibrates. The vibration moves the grapes from one end to the other. Insects and other detritus will typically fall off in the process; the whole clusters will move through to the crusher-destemmer. Top wineries will have human sorters who will remove any leaves and clusters that don't look healthy or ripe.
Wineries that need to process large amounts will still need some kind of conveyer system. Bugs will have plenty of time to get away, but obviously some won't.

Having travelled along the conveyer the clusters enter the destemmer. This is a rotating drum with holes in it; the grapes fall off the stems and go through the holes. Very unripe grapes will remain attached to the stems and come out of the other side. If a bird or rodent did make it this far it will be ejected too. The grapes then fall through into a crusher that breaks the skins, and from there are transferred into the fermentors.

So it's possible that a trace of animal material can make it into the bins. And as I said, that's true of just about every winery I know. It's also true of just about every food production method I know; that's why there are legal limits on the amount of foreign matter allowable in just about every food there is; it doesn't mean it's necessarily there, but it does mean that the food isn't considered to be contaminated by it. In the case of wine however that matter will get removed when the wine is pressed - and if for any reason it didn't, then it would be removed by the racking and filtering. that goes on when the wine is finished.

The article also states that the wine is sweetened with grape juice and sugar. Well there is nothing illegal about adding grape juice to wine - if there was then Tokaj, one of the world's greatest sweet wines would not exist. Adding sugar is illegal in California - as is adding water except under certain circumstances - but why would you sweeten with sugar when you can use grape juice? (The adding of sugar is called chaptalization, and is permitted in some countries when the wines don't have enough fermentable sugar to start with. )

There are plenty of legal additives such as Mega Purple that wineries can use to improve the perceived quality of their cheap wines. They don't have to disclose them, though some wineries have started to and I greatly encourage that.

So while I don't encourage anyone to drink Two Buck Chuck if they can possibly avoid it, there's no reason to believe the false claims being made against it. If you really want to avoid something nasty in your diet then look out for partially hydrogenated oils - that stuff is seriously bad for you.

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This looks like an interesting new project. The site is a 10 acre vineyard in La Honda, producing around 600 cases of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The winemaker is Ehren Jordan, formerly of Turley and owner of Failla, and a former San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year. The first release from the 2013 vintage isn't until November, so now would be a good time to head over to their web site and sign up for their mailing list.

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Web site The Daily Meal has come up with their list of the 101 best wineries in America, and not surprisingly several of them are from the Santa Cruz Mountains.

At #54 that have the legendary Mount Eden - should have been higher of course, but that's fine.
Just above at #52 is Woodside's Thomas Fogarty.
Inside the top 20 at #18 we find the idiosyncratic Randall Grahm and his Bonny Doon Winery.
And taking the #1 spot is Ridge. Congratulations!

For the full list see The Daily Meal.

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Since 2002 Bradley Brown has been producing excellent estate Syrah; intense wines that deserve - nay, demand - cellaring. As the vines have aged and other Rhone varieties have been planted the range has expanded.  The latest release features two siblings that are very different from each other.

2010 Big Basin Old Corral Syrah 

The 2010 Old Corral is a dark, brooding wine featuring 13% Grenache and 1% Viognier. There's a deeply rich nose; lots of dark fruit - plum and blueberry, with herbal tones. Lots of young tannins back up a nice fruit core. It's almost painfully young at this stage; needs at least 3-5 years cellaring and will reward more. Highly recommended.

2010 Rattlesnake Rock Syrah

Blending just 11% Grenache into the Syrah somehow gives a lighter wine than the Old Corral. The nose is floral, almost soapy; it comes across more like a white wine than a red. Where the Old Corral showed black fruits the Rattlesnake Rock leans towards the red; more cherry than plum, with smoky, meaty notes and great structure.  Again. this is a wine you shouldn't plan to touch for a while. Highly recommended.

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Since the sale of the old vineyards off Highway 9 to Mount Eden, George Troquato has been sourcing fruit from all over the state, particularly Paso Robles and Monterey. However he still produces a couple of wines from local fruit - a Pinot Noir from Lester Family Vineyard, and a rather nice Chardonnay.

The fruit for the 2012 Chardonnay was sourced from two small vineyards high above  Los Gatos; the 40 year old Wright’s Station Vineyard - http://www.wrightsstation.com - and the nearby 25 year old single acre Skyland Vineyard on Skyland Ridge.

A fairly typical Santa Cruz Mountains style of Chardonnay; citrus and tropical fruits on the nose; plush apple, lemon and vanilla on the palate. There's French oak but it's not excessive.

$38 at the winery tasting room in Saratoga.

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Michael Martella has been making wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains for over 40 years as former head winemaker at Thomas Fogarty, and since 1999 under his own label from purchased fruit. I'll confess that in the past I haven't been the greatest fan of his label; I've found his "Hammer" Syrah to be aptly named and not really to my taste.

So I was pleasantly surprised by this latest Syrah from the Camel Hill Vineyard in Los Gatos, which displays finesse rather than raw power. The nose is lovely, showing black fruit and leather; on the palate there are gorgeous fruit flavours backed by good acidity and tannin. Recommended.

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The Lester Family Vineyard is located in Corralitos, towards the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, at an elevation of around 500 feet. The vineyard is planted to seven different clones of Pinot Noir; primarily Dijon clones 667, 777 and 115, but also Mount Eden, Wadenswil, Mariafeld and Jackson. Since 2002 the fruit has been used by several local wineries and has produced a variety of structured, age-worthy wines.

2011 was a tough vintage; a cool summer that also had rain in June and October. While this was bad news for late ripening grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, the cooler weather didn't affect Pinot Noir quite so badly; so while it's by no means a classic vintage, good wines can be made even in bad years - and this is one of the finest 2011s that I've tasted.

The nose is beautiful and expressive; floral with plenty of savoury cherry. On the palate it's long and smooth, with fine tannins; a lovely complex interplay of fruit, herb and meaty flavours. Overall I think this is one of the best wines I've had from the Lester Family vineyard. Highly recommended.

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Montebello ridge has long been known as an ideal place to grow Cabernet. From the earliest plantings at the end of the 19th Century to the present day the area has hosted dozens of small wineries. And while the mountain top is now dominated by one of the finest wineries in the world, there is still room for lots of smaller vineyards and wineries such as Vidovich, Naumann, Relyea-Wood - and Fellom Ranch.

Looking south from the vineyards

In 1929 Senator Roy Fellom purchased a 250 acre ranch on Monte Bello Road. A few acres of land had been planted with vines by the previous owner, Paul Cena and the family traded the grapes with a neighbour, Andrew Mikulaco, who paid them back in wine.  

In the early 1980s Senator Fellom's son and grandson decided to replant the vineyards and open a winery. Around 10 acres were terraced and planted, almost entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small block of Petite Verdot. The winery was bonded in 1987.

I recall first encountering Fellom Ranch Vineyards at a Santa Cruz Mountains vintners festival in the mid 1990s. At the time they had a barrel sample of their Saratoga Zinfandel which so impressed me that I ordered a case. I was invited to the release party at the winery - up near Ridge, a half mile from Monte Bello Road down a winding single-track lane called Flintlock Road, and thankfully was able to persuade a friend to act as a designated driver.

Bud and Brookes Fellom

The wines could occasionally be found at local retailers and restaurants, but they gradually became harder to find and I haven't seen any since the 1999 vintage. When I first started writing the blog and wiki I contacted the winery and saws told that they were temporarily closed to visitors, but planned to re-open. Due to family legal issues the winery remained closed until last fall. I heard about the opening in time to visit on the spring Passport day.

Roy 'Bud' Fellom III is the current owner and winemaker. Assisted by his family he has been making wines continually since 1987, though in recent years he got disillusioned in dealing with wholesalers and distributors and decided to concentrate on sales direct from the winery.

The temporary closure has certainly impacted production - at present they are down to 400-500 cases annually, but plan to get back to their earlier peak of 1500-2000 cases. The winery no longer has the lease on the Saratoga vineyard that produced the Zinfandel that I enjoyed so much; instead they source fruit from a number of vineyards both locally and as far afield as Shennadoah valley and Paso Robles.

The winery should be open at weekends during the summer months for tasting and sales - the web site is www.fellom.com

2012 Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains.

Sourced from an unnamed vineyard over by Cooper Garrod this is fairly typical of the more restrained Santa Cruz Mountains style - plenty of lemon, pear and chalk with some tropical fruit notes. Recommended. $20

2011 Pinot Noir, Central Coast

From vineyards in the Paso Robles area the nose is floral, with strawberry and preserved cherry. Smooth flavours of chocolate and cherry - an easy drinker, similar in style to those from Carneros. $22

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Douglas Crest Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains

From a nearby vineyard opposite Vidovich this has a perfumed, floral nose and nice berry flavours. There's some good acid and soft tannins. Doesn't seem like a candidate for cellaring, but tasting very nice right now with a little air. Recommended. $25

A magnum from the first vintage
of Fellom Ranch estate cabernet

The winery were also pouring two barrel samples from the 2013 vintage:

2013 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley

A bright raspberry nose with a hint of VA. Lots of sweet raspberry fruit; quite a bit of residual sugar - more than I care for, but the other tasters seemed to enjoy it.

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains

Similar in style to the Zinfandel; nose and palate showed blueberries with some apparent residual sugar.


And finally there was a magnum of the estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the maiden vintage:

1987 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains, from a magnum

Lovely old nose, with lots of leather, cedar and herb. Nice acidity. Still has plenty of good blackcurrant fruit supported by lots of secondary notes. 1987 was a very good, ripe year and this wine has held up beautifully. showing the true potential of the site. A real treat.

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In the early 1990s the writer and historian Charles L. Sullivan was comissioned by the Bennion Trust to create an oral history of winemaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Over a period of two years he interviewed many of the prominent winemaking families in the region, and compiled a 700 page document which provides a fascinating insight into the state of the appellation at the time as well, as the history over the previous century.

The book was self published by the Bennion Trust and was only available to those in the know who purchased a copy directly from Fran Bennion herself. $40 got you over 350 sheets of velobound copier paper.

Some years ago I contacted first Mr Sullivan and then the Bennion Trust, offering to host a copy of the manuscript on the internet, to bring it to a wider audience. The original source material was still in existence on early Apple Macintosh disks, and could have been converted to a modern format without too much difficulty. The offer was politely declined at the time, but I recently learned that the trust has since gone ahead with publishing a version of the project online.

At the present time it's still incomplete. All of the interviews are viewable as PDF scans; they are readable, but are not currently indexed or searchable. The quality is perfectly readable and I've successfully processed some of the pages with OCR software. The appendix - which consisted of various photographs and commercial documents from Ridge - are not yet present, nor is the original map of the appellation drawn by Jan Sherrill.

You can view the project at drbenniontrustfund.org

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